someone, loudly, and now. and if you hear someone else, speak up. don't let a cry for help go by. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." we are agonizing for these last two years. initially, it was panic. and then, it turned into torment. i was concerned that she was hurt somewhere. i felt so helpless. kelly bordeaux was always there for others. >> she liked to help people that needed help. >> reporter: there for her friends. there for her country. >> this was a good fit for her? the army? >> she wanted to be an officer. >> her personal life was a little more complicated.

she was estranged from her husband. were they talking divorce? >> kelly was. mike wasn't. >> had a new boyfriend. >> she was pretty fun. she's easy to talk to. >> and lately, she seemed to have an admirer. >> did he ask kelly for her phone number? >> yeah. >> when she, suddenly, vanished, hundreds joined the search. including, this perfect stranger. >> i said i'd like to see if i could solve this. >> he was suspicious about one of the men in kelly's life. >> it's like, i can tell you are lying. >> but getting the truth wouldn't be easy. >> i had to get into his mind, see what he was about. >> what you were involved in was psychological warfare. >> uh-huh. he knows where she's at. >> reporter: after a young soldier's mysterious disappearance, one man's personal battle to find her. do you think he is finally going to reveal to you? >> oh, i know he is.

hello and welcome to "dateline." kelly bordeaux was just starting what she hoped would be a long career in the military. but fate had other plans. one night, the young, army medic was hanging out at a local bar when, suddenly, she vanished. fearing the worst, friends and family launched a frantic search. but it would take a stranger hell-bent on justice to track down the ugly truth behind kelly's disappearance. here's andrea canning with "deep in the woods." >> reporter: it's closed, now. just a decrepit, old shack, with only the weeds for company. the good times are long gone. back when it was a watering hole for some of the soldiers based at nearby ft. bragg. famous for billiards, beer, and karaoke, it was once a popular, little pub called froggy

bottoms. and it was where private-first class, kelly bordeaux, planned to unwind one-friday night back in april, 2012. friday, the 13th. kelly was just 23. a mere 5'1" and barely 100 pounds. but she could hold her own with anybody. >> girl power, indeed. >> to her older siblings, matt and olivia, kelly was always the perfect combination of tough and sweet. >> bouncy, bubbly, happy. and just trying to have a good time. >> i think she was always working to get better. she had a driven personality. >> reporter: kelly, also, had a big heart. she was warm and generous. always putting others first. >> she liked to help people that she saw needed help. she wanted them to be better, because she could help them to be better. >> reporter: kelly grew up in florida and enlisted in the army when she was 22. >> you just wait till i see you.

>> reporter: after basic training, the army sent her to fayetteville, north carolina. at ft. bragg, kelly trained as an army medic, one of the most demanding jobs in the military. >> i think it gave her an opportunity to do something better with her life. and she wanted to help people. >> and what was it about being an army medic? that's an intense job. >> it was something that that would push her to her limits. i want to make a career out of it. i want to do my 20 years. she's like i really want, you know, this to be something. >> so she would have, possibly, made a life out of the military? >> yeah. >> oh, yeah. >> that was the plan. >> kelly's professional life was on track. but her personal life was complicated. kelly had a husband, named mike bordeaux. they got married in 2010, before she joined the service. but later, separated. after some time apart, the couple decided to give it another shot. so, when the army sent kelly to

north carolina, she asked mike to come with her. >> why did kelly want to save the marriage? >> i think she didn't want to see it as a failure. she said i'm going to give it three months where i devote. i am going to make this work. >> reporter: but kelly couldn't make it work. despite her efforts, the marriage was on the rocks. >> she bought him a one-way plane ticket to florida, and he left. >> and did she actually use the word divorce? >> i remember in the text messages very clear. like, listen, mike. i have done everything i can for the last three months to try to make this work. i can't do this, anymore. like, this is it. >> reporter: during her initial separation from mike, kelly started seeing someone else. a guy from her hometown of st. cloud, florida, named justin thompson. >> she was just fun. she is easy to talk to. she was always laughing, loving. it was -- she never meant anything wrong to anybody. >> kelly had a knack for making people happy. >> >> uh-huh.

she was inviting to everyone. if you were there, you're part of the party. >> reporter: when kelly tried to save her troubled marriage, justin says he gave her space. but when mike, ultimately, moved out, kelly asked justin to move in. were you in love with kelly? >> yeah. we were in love. i don't want to be like we were going to get married and have kids because i don't know what was going to happen. but i know that was our intentions, is to further our relationship. >> was home wherever kelly was? >> yeah. >> reporter: in early april of 2012, justin visited fayetteville to get acquainted with his future home. the couple, also, hit froggy bottoms. then, justin returned to florida. he'd be back in two weeks. this time, for good. meanwhile, that friday, the 13th, kelly decided to go to the bar, alone. she texted her sister, olivia, before she left that night. and sent this selfie. did she say if she was going with anybody? >> no. she's like, i'm going to go sing

karaoke and just not think about work. not think about mike. just kind of trying to get away from all that and relax. >> reporter: kelly also texted justin about her plans. justin says he wasn't happy that kelly had gone out alone in a new town she didn't know. >> i didn't feel like her life was in danger. i just didn't feel like that was a good environment. >> what wasn't a good environment? >> the fayetteville area. her by herself, you don't know anybody there. so if something was to happen, nobody's going to call you to say, hey, kelly hasn't come home in a while. nobody knows anything. >> reporter: but throughout the evening, kelly and justin kept in touch. texting frequently. everything seemed fine, he said. olivia, meanwhile, went to bed early. >> the next morning, did you try to call her or text her? >> probably, at some point, i probably texted her and just said, hey, how was last night or whatever. but it wasn't uncommon for us to not talk for a day or two. and i just remember like let her chill this weekend. >> reporter: but justin said he did wake up to a text from kelly, sent around 1:30 a.m. he says there was something strange about it.

>> the verbiage. the way she talks. it doesn't make sense. i made it home. i'm safe. i'll call you tomorrow. why would you not be safe? why would you text me, i made it home, i'm safe? call me -- i'll call you tomorrow. that makes no sense. >> did you try calling her, then? >> yeah. >> and? >> it was dead. >> so what are you thinking? >> it was bad. i knew it was bad. >> what had happened to kelly bordeaux? her family begins to panic. coming up. >> what were some of the scenarios that were running through your mind? >> that somebody was holding her somewhere. >> and then, police turn their attention to kelly's estranged husband. >> were they talking divorce? >> kelly was. mike wasn't. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues ...my migraine takes me somewhere else. where there's pain, and nausea. but excedrin pulls me back in a way others don't. and it relieves my symptoms fast for real migraine relief. (brad) how has apartments-dot-com helped more renters get into new homes than any other site? by working tirelessly to design 3-d virtual tours that are so

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saturday, the morning after. kelli bordeaux had been out of touch for hours. her boyfriend, justin thompson, knew something was wrong. what was supposed to be a day off was, now, turning into a day of dread. not a call, text, or tweet from her, he says. >> i remember talking to my mom. i was like, i don't want to start a storm but i'm really worried about it because i knew something bad happened. >> why did you jump to that conclusion so fast? >> you talk to somebody every day, and then you can't get ahold of them. it's not good. >> reporter: saturday came and went. still, nothing from kelli. so, on sunday, justin, now frantic, phoned the fayetteville

police department. urging them to start searching. >> nobody would help me. i called them several times. >> reporter: police policy required a family member to call in and provide more-personal details on kelli, before they could start searching. so, the next day, justin decided to call the army base, instead. >> i asked if they showed up. i said it's important, if she didn't show up, they need to go to her house. and they got back on the phone and said she didn't show up. >> reporter: army investigators and fayetteville police went to kelli's apartment. they got inside? >> uh-huh. >> no kelli. >> no kelli. >> is that when everybody starts taking this really seriously? >> started to panic, yeah. >> reporter: word spread like wildfire, as ft. bragg called kelli's estranged husband, mike, who then phoned her sister olivia. reliable kelli had missed rollcall and wasn't at home. >> i was like what the hell? so then, i started facebook messengering her. calling her, texting her like crazy.

i'm like, have you seen her? did you go out with her on friday? i was just trying everything. >> reporter: everything led to nothing. no leads. no clues. no kelli. >> what were some of the scenarios that were running through your mind? >> just that somebody was holding her, somewhere. you know. >> kidnapping kind of thing. >> yeah. i thought that. i was more concerned that she was hurt somewhere and she wasn't able to get to us. so we have to get to her. >> reporter: olivia, matt and mike, immediately, made plans to all meet in fayetteville. by now, the fayetteville pd was all over the case. one of the investigators assigned was veteran-homicide detective, mike ballard. >> we knew this could be an endangered person. >> why the homicide unit when she's barely been missing? >> kelli bordeaux was not a problem soldier. always contacted her family, her friends. and then, she just disappears off the face of the earth. >> breaking news in the case of kelli bordeaux, the ft. bragg soldier missing since saturday.

>> the disappearance of the beautiful, young army medic was, now, big news. and covered extensively by local media. like nbc station, wral tv. >> right now, it's still a missing-person case. there is a lot that is not known, at this time. >> reporter: olivia and mike arrived in fayetteville, where they took a grim meeting at police headquarters. what did you tell them? >> that we were hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. and they should do the same thing, too. >> i remember that at one point, the detectives were trying to take us back to talk to us, more. and we were walking into a room and it said homicide on the door. and i was like, i'm not going in there. and they were like, no, no, no. this is just the best room. and i was like, that's not happening. i was like i'm not letting that thought in. i was like, i have to stay positive. >> this is an out-of-character thing to happen to my sister. it's not something that is -- it's not something she would do. >> reporter: olivia, quickly, became a mainstay on every-media outlet in the area. >> i just want my sister back. you know? i just want to talk to her.

>> reporter: mike bordeaux, also, went on camera to plead for his wife's return. >> please, let her come home. just let her come home. >> reporter: the public, police, and military response, was intense. it seemed like the whole town turned out to look for kelli. >> most of us are military, prior military, or spouses. so we are very driven to find one of our own. >> reporter: search teams, numbering in the hundreds, combed the fields and thick forests surrounding fayetteville. >> i searched, basically, every day i was there. sun up to sun down, for the most part. and then, it's just searching, searching, searching. >> this volunteer group started at kelli's apartment. just like police, their search turned up nothing. >> reporter: detectives were also combing through kelli's background. her habits. and most importantly, her circle of family and friends. >> everybody's a suspect, until we eliminate ya. >> you started with mike bordeaux? >> mike bordeaux. >> kelli's estranged husband?

>> right. and he told me during the interview that they were having some problems. and that's what threw me off when he would get on tv. there was no issues. >> me and her loved each other very much. and i just appreciate everyone out here. helping, looking for her. >> he wasn't being consistent. >> were they talking divorce? >> kelli was. mike wasn't. >> did you see that, as a possible motive? >> yeah. we -- we had to eliminate mike bordeaux. >> reporter: mike insisted he was in florida when kelli went missing in fayetteville. even so, police still considered him the primary person of interest. >> has her husband been questioned by detectives? >> we've had conversation with mr. bordeaux. >> reporter: police, also, needed to have a conversation with kelli's boyfriend, justin thompson. little did they know, that justin had a huge, new lead waiting for them, about the night kelli disappeared. coming up. a new, possible suspect.

>> he is the last person that's seen with kelli. that was very concerning to us. >> why something in his past would trigger even more alarm bells. >> it, certainly, was a red flag. >> when "dateline" continues. "ds 's you've got the looks♪ ♪let's make lots of money♪ ♪you've got the brawn♪ ♪i've got the brains♪ ♪let's make lots of♪ ♪uh uh uh♪ ♪oohhh there's a lot of opportunities♪ with allstate, drivers who switched saved over $700. saving is easy when you're in good hands. allstate click or call to switch today. with less moderate-to-severe eczema why hide your skin if you can help heal your skin from within. with dupixent adults saw long-lasting, clearer skin and significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur including anaphylaxis, which is severe.

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police have just told us they have no, new leads. >> they found nothing. >> what happened to kelli bordeaux?

>> reporter: it was now national news. suddenly, quiet, little fayetteville was ground zero for a massive search for a missing army medic. >> detectives say information, in this case, keeps pointing them to look in this area, near where she was last seen. >> reporter: kelli bordeaux had been missing some-72 hours. the chances of finding her were growing slimmer, by the day. >> investigators have combed through just about every area here, in fayetteville, as well as in cumberland county. >> reporter: 600 miles away, in florida, kelli's boyfriend, justin thompson, was talking to detectives. telling them, he was home the weekend kelli disappeared. >> we checked his phone. everything checked out with justin. >> reporter: justin told detectives something else. another name to check out. when he and kelli visited froggy bottoms, the week before she disappeared, they met a chatty guy who worked there named nick

holbert. >> he just started talking to us. you get vibes from people sometimes. i could see he was being weird. >> but he says kelli being kelli asked him if he wanted to join for a game of pool. holbert hung out with them until justin and kelli decided to head home for the night. >> did he ask kelli for her phone number? >> yeah. >> and? >> she gave it to him because he worked there. it's always good to have somebody that works at the bar, as a friend. >> reporter: that friday the 13th, when kelli decided to back to the bar by herself, justin told detectives she wasn't really alone. he said she arranged to get a ride from nick holbert. >> i just said watch out. be careful around him. >> this guy really stuck in your mind? >> yeah, he's weird. i don't know what she was doing. >> did you say maybe you shouldn't go? >> i said it, but i didn't -- i wasn't adamant about it. i am not going to tell her no a thousand times on text message. >> reporter: kelli made it, safely, to the bar, where she

texted justin throughout the night. but then, there was that last, rather-odd text he received. justin was sure holbert had something to do with kelli's disappearance, and sent the text to cover his tracks. >> she went out with this kid, and she was supposed to come home and she didn't come home with that kid. >> reporter: so detectives went to froggy bottoms, where they found nick holbert. they discovered he was down on his luck, living in the woods behind the bar. they searched his campsite and his car. not one clue. holbert also agreed to an interview at the police station, where he told detectives, yes, he picked up kelli on friday, the 13th. and later, dropped her off at the entrance to her apartment complex. >> since friday night, no contact with her whatsoever? you don't know where she is at? >> no. >> what do you know about her? >> nothing, really. i known her for, what, six hours? altogether? >> reporter: holbert was fully cooperative.

didn't duck one question. >> if you knocked her down in the car, i need to know about that. >> no, i did not. >> not even touched her? >> no. >> reporter: so, they let him go. if nick holbert was a suspect, he certainly wasn't acting like one. he joined search teams looking for kelli. and even spoke on local tv, expressing his concern. >> she seemed like a really nice and cool person. and i mean, i hate that she's missing. >> reporter: but fayetteville police weren't buying holbert's story. and now, he, too, was a person of interest, along with kelli's husband, mike bordeaux. remember, mike said he was home, in florida, when she went missing. which detectives needed to confirm. >> family put him there, friday night. friends put him there. his alibi checked out. >> reporter: so now, detectives and district attorney, billy west, zeroed in on the last person seen with kelli. >> everything kept coming back to nicholas holbert as the prime suspect. >> so investigators doug into

holbert's background and discovered something rather disturbing. >> he was arrested sex offender and served time in the penitentiary for that. >> it, certainly, was a red flag. the fact that he had a prior-sex offense. and he is the last person that's seen with kelli. that was very, very concerning, to us. >> reporter: the da didn't have any evidence to arrest holbert for kelli's disappearance. but he did discover holbert was violating the terms of his parole. >> he was a prior-sex offender, and he was not registered properly. and he was placed in jail. >> reporter: right, where detectives wanted him. now, they could watch holbert. see if he blabbed to a cellmate about what happened to kelli. they also questioned him, twice. even took him back to froggy bottoms to jog his memory. but holbert stuck to his same, though sometimes inconsistent, story. >> you caught him in lies but you couldn't crack him? >> exactly.

>> reporter: by now, olivia and matt had left fayetteville and gone home. >> i remember feeling defeated. we came up here thinking that something was going to happen, and it didn't. >> i don't know. i felt like i didn't sleep for a couple weeks. it was just, 24/7, thinking about what happened? what happened? what happened? >> reporter: detectives and the da seemed so close to an answer. they even had their prime suspect in custody. but, weeks passed, months. holbert stopped talking. you couldn't arrest him. >> we needed her body. we needed to find kelli bordeaux. >> reporter: little did police know, it would take some-two years to, finally, unravel the mystery. but they were about to get help. help, they never imagined. deep in the forest, a secret investigation was under way. a man, on a mission to bring kelli home. coming up. why a perfect stranger cared so much about kelli. >> she needed to be found.

>> who he believed had taken her, and his risky scheme to get the man to talk. >> reporter: he buys that? >> hook, line, and sinker. >> when "dateline" continues. n s it's like a flavor festival on an almond. zest fest. -zest fest. blue diamond almonds, super flavor all on a superfood.

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hello. i'm dara brown. here's what's happening. a federal judge has weakened the cdc's efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus on cruise ships leaving ports in florida. ruling said the cdc exceeded its authority by requiring, rather than just recommending measures such as vaccine passports for passengers. and as america celebrates the end of slavery on the first-federal juneteenth holiday, this saturday, companies like target and best buy are planning to give their employees holiday pay. now, back to "dateline." lin" welcome back to "dateline." i'm natalie morales. where was kelli bordeaux? after the alibis of both her

estranged husband and her boyfriend checked out, police suspected a man named nick holbert had the answer. a convicted-sex offender. nick told detectives he drove kelli home from the bar that night but never touched her. to police, the story just didn't add up. and now, a total strange was ready to prove it. once again, here's andrea canning with "deep in the woods." >> reporter: autumn, 2012. kelli bordeaux had been missing for months. the searches continued, but were winding down. and so was hope. privately, many around town felt kelli would never be found. but in the forest, outside fayetteville, there was someone, still, secretly searching for her. no one knew. not police. not even kelli's family. his name was david marshburn. he didn't know kelli but had an intense interest in her case, from the day she disappeared. >> she was in the military. you just don't up and disappear.

she was a young female. that's not right. >> reporter: marshburn is both a bounty hunter and private investigator. his specialty? finding people, dead or alive. >> i knew she wasn't alive. i knew she needed to be found. >> she seemed like a really nice -- >> reporter: remember that tv interview nick holbert did? marshburn saw it, too. >> when i'm watching him, it's like dude, i can tell you are lying. he did it. he knows where she is at. he killed her. >> reporter: and he was also convinced he could find kelli bordeaux. operating on his own time and own dime, marshburn started carefully researching the details of kelli's disappearance. >> i don't know what the hell got into me to do it. i mean, i just did it. >> to bring some answers to her family. >> yeah. i love doing it. i love helping a family out. >> reporter: marshburn was convinced holbert had buried

kelli close to the froggy bottom's bar. somewhere in the thick forest surrounding fayetteville. how daunting of a task was it? >> it's, like, i don't know, taking a rock no bigger than this and just throwing it out here. and saying, go find it. and you miss it by a inch, you might as well missed it by a mile. cause it's not that easy to find something. >> reporter: marshburn needed help. so, several months into his very private search, he added two new members to his team. an assistant named marcia ward and a specially-trained search dog with a keen sense of smell, named taz. >> he is trained on tracking, trailing, whatever you want. what odor you want. >> reporter: including, buried bodies. together, marshburn, marcia, and kaz, slogged through ponds, fields, forests. thousands of acres. and searched for months.

but no trace of kelli. >> i got really frustrated and disappointed. and i -- i'm at my whit's end. >> reporter: then, came an unlikely break, in may, 2013. nick holbert was released from jail, after being locked up on that parole violation. if holbert was happy, david marshburn was thrilled because, now, he could deal with him, face to face. so just a day after his release, marshburn pulled up to the house where holbert was staying. >> i never talked to a killer. have you? >> i work for "dateline." >> oh, yeah. i take that back. >> what were you nervous about, that he would try to hurt you? or just that the stakes are high here? >> sort of, like, a star struck, you know what i mean? you're like, wow, it's meaning. >> reporter: marshburn took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. >> and he answered the door. and i said, hey, nick, i'm david

marshburn, i'm a private investigator. i'm here to try and find kelli bordeaux. and i think you can help me. >> reporter: his strategy was simple. trick holbert into thinking that he was an ally. >> it was, basically, telling him i'm -- i'm your angel. i'm your help. let me help you. >> help him how, though? >> for people to see the light, that he was not guilty. >> reporter: and he buys that? >> hook, line, and sinker. >> reporter: so now, the bounty hunter and the prime suspect talked. over the next few months, marshburn, gradually, started to win holbert's confidence, coaxing him to confidence about what really happened to kelli bordeaux. >> i had to get into his mind. and see what he was about. >> did you think that he was going to just confess to you? >> uh-uh. i knew that. i didn't know how i was going to get it out of him. >> reporter: at this point, police were aware of david marshburn and his diy investigation.

did you take david marshburn seriously? >> absolutely. he came to us, and wanted to befriend nick holbert. >> what did you think of that? >> hey, go for it. we can't tell him what to do. >> reporter: marshburn, remember, is a private eye, not a police officer. and unlike detectives, he could try tactics that were, to say the least, unorthodox. a few months after the they met, marshburn told holbert that the da was ready to cut a deal, if he confessed. marshburn even presented holbert with this very attractive plea-bargain agreement. >> it would be something like manslaughter. and he would do three or four years. and he would go to a mental hospital. >> reporter: the so-called deal was completely bogus. >> i put a fake judge on there. it was justin f. case. honorable justin f. case. just in case. >> did he believe it? >> yeah.

he believed it, to a point. but then, he threw it back at me, after looking at it for about-five minutes. said, no, they'll just take it back. >> reporter: marshburn thought that wasn't exactly the reaction of an innocent man. now, he was fully convinced nick holbert had killed kelli. but he needed to get holbert to reveal where he buried her body. >> how can i be his friend? and i had to do some things, say some crap that i just didn't believe. but i had to do it to play the part. >> reporter: marshburn bought holbert countless meals, beers, even hired him to do odd jobs. slowly, becoming a bff. or maybe, more of a frenemy. but marshburn said he paid a high price, as he practically abandoned his wife and young son. >> i didn't do any family stuff. if we were eating somewhere, and nick picked up the phone and called and said, hey, i need cigarettes, man. i need some money. i get up, and i'd leave. and i'd go straight to him and do what i had do and come back.

>> were you obsessed? >> when i have somebody i'm hunting down, i don't stop till i get 'em. >> isn't that being obsessed? >> i don't know. dedicated. >> get the answers you need. >> i'm not going to stop until i do get the answer or the answer comes. >> reporter: but holbert, still, wasn't providing any answers about kelli. who had now been missing some-18 months. by this time, marshburn had spent thousands of hours and some $40,000 trying to crack holbert. he was losing hope and considered quitting. or even trying something drastic. >> at times, i wanted to just take nick and cut his fingers off. and say, you tell me, or i'm going to chop another one off. i wanted to torture him because i knew he knew. >> you really would have done that? >> oh, yeah, i hated him that bad. i despised him. >> reporter: marshburn didn't resort to torture. but he did need a new tactic. something that would make holbert, finally, share his deadly secret.

coming up. marshburn finds a new-pressure point. >> that was his achilles heel? >> uh-huh. >> but will it work? when "dateline" continues. ntinu. ♪♪ [music and sound effects played in reverse] this...is our shot. the covid-19 vaccines are ready. and so is walgreens, with pharmacy experts ready to make it easy for you

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go with us and find millions of flexible options. all in our app. expedia. it matters who you travel with. there were still a few flyers scattered around fayetteville. but nearly-two years after kelli bordeaux had mysteriously vanished, the investigation had cooled. new crimes, now, took priority.

kelli's family, still, visited fayetteville, periodically, to keep the case alive. somehow, never losing hope. >> i would ask how do you keep thinking she is alive? and i was like until you can prove otherwise, why should i believe it? i'd rather believe the better scenario. >> how did you have hope that it would happen? >> because the other avenue wasn't one i wanted to go down. >> reporter: back in florida, kelli's boyfriend, justin thompson, had been living in limbo. with a bad case of survivor's guilt. >> i could have done more, somehow. i should have done better. >> how? >> i feel i should have told her no. don't go. i should have tried to argue about it. i don't know. >> what was the waiting like? and the not knowing? >> terrible. just, like, slams on the brakes in your life. you can't do anything. i, honestly, didn't think we would ever find her. >> really? >> what was going to change? >> reporter: but little did justin know, things were about to change. up in fayetteville, private

investigator, david marshburn, had befriended nick holbert, the prime suspect in kelli disappearance. marshburn was working practically 24/7 to get a confession. chasing every clue holbert dropped. >> we'd go talk to him. and then, we would go out and try and figure it out. we knew we were going on wild-goose chases. we had to do it. i mean, what else you got? >> reporter: marshburn needed to turn up the heat on holbert and had an idea. >> nick was always worried law enforcement's watching. >> that was his achilles heel? >> uh-huh. so i knew that was a weakness. >> reporter: which marshburn exploited by enlisting a friend who owned a vehicle that looked like an unmarked-police car. he had him park near holbert's house and conduct surveillance. fake surveillance. >> it worked like a charm. because he saw him right out the gate, when he come outside. and got paranoid.

>> reporter: so paranoid that marshburn tried, yet another trick to push holbert to give it up. he had his wife pose as a paralegal and draw up phony-indictment papers charging holbert with kelli's murder. >> i took one of his old charges. changed who the detective was. changed the charges. he was being indicted and i got cici, my paralegal person on the phone. >> who is your wife? >> yeah, who's helping me. the plan was working good. and he was worried. >> reporter: holbert took one look at the indictment papers, and went into a panic. sensing nick was near his breaking point, marshburn reminded him about that sweetheart-plea deal, if he confessed. so, they took a ride to froggy bottoms. back to where it all began. >> i said, look, nick. you're fixing to be indicted on this. they, evidently, got evidence. you need to get me to where kelli is at. and he is standing there, just

looking straight down. and it feels like he's imaging all this stuff going on of what he done. >> do you think he is finally going to reveal to you? >> oh, i know he is. >> this is it? >> this is it. oh, yeah, i had chills. >> reporter: marshburn then applied one, last bit of pressure. his own ticking clock of sorts. to push holbert over the edge. >> so i picked up this stick. i figured, if i'd sit there and snap it, that it would ring in his mind. hey, i'm on a time limit. the clock's ticking. i start snapping the twigs off of it. and finally, i got to that last, little piece off of it. and he just said something, like, okay, i'm ready. >> reporter: ready to confess, finally, after a year-long, cat-and-mouse game, holbert revealed to marshburn that he killed kelli bordeaux. they got back in the van, and holbert directed marshburn to a

remote area, where he remembered burying the body. >> and then, he said, right here. so, we pull down this path. >> are you getting nervous? >> no. i -- i'm excited i'm gonna find her. and i took kaz. and me and kaz try and find her. >> reporter: marshburn and kaz spent the next-several hours combing through the thick woods. trying to get a scent of kelli's grave. >> we searched till almost dark. kaz starts laying down. and so, we start digging. can't find nothing. >> reporter: what is that telling you, though? >> i'm thinking we're close. >> reporter: but not close enough. holbert couldn't remember exactly where he buried kelli's body. it was almost dark. everybody was exhausted so marshburn reluctantly called it a day. but he didn't take holbert home. >> i get him a hotel room and i tell him i'm gonna be back in the morning. >> did you worry that he might get spooked and take off? >> i was worried he was going to kill himself. >> reporter: and take the secrets of kelli's grave to his own.

coming up. an excruciating, few hours. >> i couldn't sleep that night. marcia couldn't sleep. >> reporter: in the morning, one, final search and at long last, a sign. >> all of a sudden, he starts whimpering. and he stops. >> after two, long years, are all questions about to be answered? when "dateline" continues. answered when "dateline" continues. hing. but your first treatment could be a chemo-free combination of two immunotherapies that works differently. it could mean a chance to live longer. opdivo plus yervoy is for adults newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread, tests positive for pd-l1, and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. it's the only fda-approved combination of two immunotherapies. opdivo plus yervoy equals... a chance for more time together. more family time. more quiet time. opdivo and yervoy can cause your immune system to harm healthy parts of your body during and after treatment. these problems can be severe and lead to death.

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welcome back. under intense pressure from private investigator, david marshburn, nick holbert had finally confessed to the murder of kelli bordeaux. he even agreed to take david to kelli's body. but after hours scouring the forest for her grave, their search was in vain. now, the unlikely pair was about to try, again. question was, could the admitted killer make good on his promise? and give kelli's family the peace they deserved. here's andrea canning with the conclusion of "deep in the woods." >> reporter: it was a long night in north carolina. nick holbert was holed up in a hotel. while a few miles away, david marshburn was wide awake. wondering, worrying, hoping that tomorrow would be the day that he could, finally, bring kelli bordeaux home. >> i couldn't sleep that night. marcia couldn't sleep. i mean, we were just all excited

for the next day. so next day comes. we go pick him up. and he's real quiet. >> reporter: he, of course, was nick holbert. who was now back in the forest, outside fayetteville. it was may 14th, 2014. two years of searching had now come down to this one, sweltering-spring morning. but holbert, still, couldn't remember exactly where he had buried kelli's body. and went off searching in a different direction. >> we're standing there. i'm like, darn it, i cannot figure this out. and all of a sudden, there's some clearing over here and there's some sun coming down. >> reporter: then, in that very same spot, kaz seemed to pick up a scent. >> all of a sudden, he starts crawling to it. like, whimpering, crawling. and he stops. that was our spot. >> reporter: they carefully pushed a metal rod into the

ground. the soil was loose, like a hole had been dug and filled in. it was at that moment, marshburn was overwhelmed with emotion. >> at that time, i said, baby girl, you going home. you going home, baby girl. so, i'm sorry. i get emotional. >> had you even seen her, yet? >> uh-uh. >> you just knew? >> uh-huh. we just knew. >> reporter: but they had to be sure. so now, the grim task of digging began. >> we found little piece of the jacket. when we pulled that jacket back, that's when we stopped. we said, this is her. you know, i mean, this is it. >> reporter: throughout the day, marshburn had been texting fayetteville police about his progress. now, minutes after finding kelli's body, he sent them something definitive and dreadful. >> a photo. it appears to be a human bone. a place he's digging. and at that time, we contacted him and said, hey, cease and

desist on the digging. don't do nothing else. >> reporter: police rushed to the scene, and soon, detective jeff locklier was interrogating holbert on camera. holbert told the whole, horrible story. how he took kelli to the bar, and they hung out. then, later, said holbert, someone there told kelli about his prior-sex offense. she got upset and swore at him in the empty parking lot. >> i just snapped and zoned out and hit her. knocked her out. >> reporter: holbert said he took kelli to his campsite where she woke up and started screaming. >> i hit her again, knocked her out again. i mean she was dead. >> reporter: holbert said he then took kelli's body deep into the woods and buried her. >> you okay with going back in there? >> i don't really want to. >> reporter: holbert was then taken downtown and arrested.

>> this morning, detectives with the fayetteville homicide -- fayetteville police department homicide unit recovered what we believe to be the remains of private-first class kelli bordeaux. >> reporter: by now, kelli's family had gotten the news. >> matt called me and he was like, hey, you need to come to mom's now. they found kelli. and i just remember dropping to the floor and i was like i'll be right there. >> then, it's like a seens of relief. instead of just wondering what if? what if? what if? >> olivia called kelly's boyfriend, justin thompson. >> as soon as she called, i just -- i knew they found her. i was just so grateful, honestly. i was just so happy that she was found. i can't say happy. >> relieved? >> yeah, i guess, i was relieved. i was, like, sad, again. all over again, like now we are going to have to do the funeral thing. >> reporter: two weeks later, they paid their final respects. a funeral in florida was such big news, it was actually televised.

kelli bordeaux was just 23. >> everybody, rise, please. >> reporter: just over a year later, came a measure of justice. >> are you, in fact, guilty of each of these crimes? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: facing the possibility of the death penalty, nick holbert pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing kelli. in exchange for a life sentence. >> i wanted my sister. i didn't want her body. i wanted her. and so, i was like, you know, what happens to nicholas holbert isn't gonna change what he's done. whether he says he's sorry. whether -- doesn't matter. >> reporter: for david marshburn, his remarkable work was done. case closed. justice served. kelli bordeaux was, finally, home. but he says solving her case left him with mixed emotions. >> once we got finished, we were depressed. it was a depression, like you would not believe. because we went for two years, nonstop, kelli, kelli, kelli,

kelli. >> do you think this case ever would have been solved without you? >> no. i don't think that nick would have ever told anyone, unless they were his friend. but he did tell me. >> reporter: for the family of kelli bordeaux, the loss, the pain, the sorrow, never goes away. but david marshburn at least gave them a chance to heal. >> he ended a suffering for my family. where we're sitting here, agonizing for these last two years. he was the one that was able to come and end that for us. and to make it to where you can try to start rebuilding, and doing things that will make kelli proud. and -- and to live your life. >> reporter: the family, also, had something for david marshburn. a very special gift from kelli. >> kelli's dog tags, which that's a great honor, in itself. >> this is a very important thing. >> yeah. >> for a soldier.

>> i'll always have these. these will stay with me, forever. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. first up on msnbc. signs of progress growing bipartisan support for a narrowed-down infrastructure plan. new proposal coming out on monday. but some democrats say, not so fast. let me put two red lines, i think, for progressives. first, no climate, no deal. second, no progressive taxation, no deal. a test vote, tuesday. senator schumer bringing voting rights bill to the floor, even after republicans shut down joe manchin's compromise proposal.